"A major move? What kind of move?"
Aiko had just finished ticulously setting up their booth when she overheard Kazumi's words. Though the booth already looked quite polished, she still wasn't satisfied and had been preparing to fine-tune it further — until now. She and Oto-chan both turned toward the returning Kazumi, who was carrying a ton of swag.
"Listen to this — looks like Surui Electronics has made a breakthrough in so kind of tech and is planning to release a brand-new console. They're gearing up for another tech arms race with Gastar Entertainnt."
Oto-chan frowned. "Where'd you even hear this gossip? I thought console hardware tech was already hitting a saturation point. Wait, is Surui also entering the AI computing space...? No, they already did. Their newest consoles even have AI chips now, performance-wise they're on par with Gastar's."
"Heh, co on. Surui's one of Japan's top electronics giants — you think they've stopped making amazing hardware? Honestly, the bigger deal is they might be planning to end their long-standing alliance with Gastar and launch a direct assault on their market share."
"That would require serious capital. Has anyone heard of Surui making any huge R&D investnts lately?"
Aiko was already one step ahead, pulling out her phone and searching online.
No luck. No related news anywhere.
"Looks like it's just another one of Kazumi's mystery rumors again. No credibility."
"Ugh, you guys never believe ! The guy who told used to work at Surui. He left to go independent — it's totally legit!"
"But what about Mickford and Brown Entertainnt? You said they're making big moves too. Don't tell you also t soone who quit from those companies?"
"Well, uh... that part I guessed. But think about it — if Surui's doing sothing big, won't the others follow?"
"Then what's Gastar Entertainnt's move?"
Oto-chan suddenly perked up. "Could it be that recently announced Cyberpunk 2077?"
Aiko shook her head. "If this is shaping up to be a showdown between the big players, Gastar will definitely prepare more than just one ga. They've got deep tech reserves and a huge library of strong IPs — even casually tossing out a few sequels could go toe-to-toe with the competition. So if the others really are making moves, Gastar has to be ready."
"Well, why don't we just ask? It's not like we can't."
Kazumi, ever the straightforward one, whipped out her phone and called her "master's wife" — Ayaka Hoshizora.
A few minutes later, she hung up.
"So? What'd she say?" Aiko, Oto-chan, and several staff mbers crowded around, curious.
"They're really just going with Cyberpunk 2077. No other backup plans."
Kazumi looked a little stunned.
"Huh?" Aiko froze. "Just Cyberpunk 2077? They're facing down three giants with just one ga? That doesn't make sense."
"Unless Cyberpunk 2077 is a trump card strong enough to sweep them all. Wait, have any of you actually seen the Cyberpunk 2077 trailer?"
"I have."
" too — the visuals and atmosphere were amazing."
Several staff mbers raised their hands. No one missed a Gastar announcent — except, apparently, one particular airhead.
"Huh? You all saw it already?" Kazumi's jaw dropped.
"Of course we did. I'm more surprised that you didn't. It's just a minute-long teaser. You could've watched it in the ti it takes to blink."
"I had important work to do! Ga dev is serious business — I don't have ti for trailers." Kazumi blushed, still trying to sound firm.
"You could've just skipped two minutes of sleep."
Oto-chan smirked, teasing as always. "But honestly, that teaser was great. After watching it, I really wanted to jump into that world. I'm dying to know how big the ga's going to be."
Aiko nodded. "Well, since Gastar is clearly betting big on this one, let's just wait and see. As for the big reveals from Surui, Mickford, and Brown — we'll know tomorrow. For now, let's focus on our own preparations."
"I'm gonna go take a nap." Kazumi turned to escape, but Aiko caught her and dragged her back to help decorate the booth.
anwhile, Surui Electronics' booth was shrouded in thick black curtains. Any curious journalists who tried to peek were promptly turned away by stern-faced bodyguards.
And of course — the more secretive they acted, the more curious everyone beca. At this point, Kazumi didn't need a source. Just a glance at Surui's booth confird they were indeed preparing for sothing big.
As one of the largest corporations, Surui had taken up a pri spot — occupying over half the main expo floor.
Right across from them was Brown Entertainnt.
Now also one of the gaming industry's powerhouses, Brown had secured its own massive exhibition space — hidden just as tightly as Surui's, with occasional sounds of ga music and combat echoing from behind the curtains.
Over in another hall was Mickford, arguably the richest of them all.
Even though they'd faltered in the smartphone and PC markets, under the leadership of Myron Case they'd shown impressive resilience. They built a loyal fanbase willing to support their products no matter what — a bit like a fandom, but more refined and elite-feeling.
Now, Mickford had claid an entire hall — over 10,000 square ters — and sealed its doors shut. No one could see what was going on inside.
It was a throwback to when Gastar and the Morgan Group jointly showcased their operating system and ga platform. This was history repeating itself.
In contrast, Gastar Entertainnt was surprisingly open this ti. They publicly stated that their focus this year was Cyberpunk 2077, encouraging players to look forward to it — and nothing more.
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